Departure
by Singkatsu
Summary: If you are a vagabond,usually you are told not to get attached to a place. Your never supposed to fall in love, but Nami did. GustafaNami Pairing


Disclaimer: I lost Marvelous in a magic duel and gave it along with Harvest Moon to the now current owners. I apologize for such.

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_Departure _

Winter, a season that to some is the season of love and the time to express ones feelings, to others, it means the end of the old and the time before rebirth, and yet, even others think it's a time of celebration and thanks for the year. Very few see it as the end to a time, something preceding the beginning of another, a time were serious decisions were to be made, and deciding that it was time to move on.

Nami was one of these few people, because she was a wanderer, leading a life as a vagabond, never to be attached to the land…

Except this time, she got attached…

"Clouds in the sky, soft snowflakes falling down, a soft breeze blowing through the town. It seems the perfect day, the perfect day for a love song."

Gustafa, walked past Jack's farm, leaving light footprints behind him in the snow, as he hummed a soft tune to himself, admiring the world with a smiling face, thinking about what he was planning to do that day.

"A love song for only one, that can only be heard by one, seen by one, felt by one, meant for one. A song for life…"

As he approached the bridge, a familiar face caught his eye, though a peculiar one to see in this place. She was shivering lightly from the cold, obviously not used to the cold temperature; she stepped onto the frost covered bridge, over the frozen water, moving steadily without pausing after hearing its slight creak.

"Hey Nami!"

She turned to him, a very blank expression on her face, as she stared at him.

"Do you need anything Gustafa?"

Though she highly doubted he needed anything, it was in her nature to ask such questions, always thinking greed before politeness…or perhaps it was her liking of him that made her want to help him. Whatever it was, as she starred at him, behind the placid expression a now familiar warm feeling began to reside.

"Nothing more then Natures beauty…though I would like to ask something of you." Gustafa said, smiling at her, his hopeful eyes hidden behind his glasses.

"Hm?"

"I composed a new song yesterday that I would like you to hear, considering you seem to know quite a bit about musical composition."

"Sure, whatever…"

Gustafa smiled at her as he began to walk again, quickly crossing the bridge and looking back to her.

"Groovy! Meet me at Midnight near the waterfall!."

"The waterfall?"

Gustafa smiled once more. "It will add to the effect of the music."

Nami nodded her head aimlessly, as she began to walk away, hiding her own smile as she simple responded; "Meh…"

Her heart pounding hard in her chest, thoughts and feelings running through her, did he really mean it that way? Was he going to tell her something? Reveal that he had feelings for her?

Her heart filled with hope, maybe she finally could have a place to stay, maybe she didn't need to travel any longer, and this village could be her home…in her mind however she was reprimanding herself. She couldn't stay here, she was a vagabond, she belonged no where, was connected to no one…this place would be no different from the next.

'Then why don't I feel like leaving?' Nami thought to herself as she walked onto Karen's farm. 'This feeling I have, love…it has never done any good for me, so why should I care about it?'

Sighing as she mulled over her thoughts, she stopped and leaned against the side of one of the greenhouses.

'Will he tell me what I want to hear? Will he be the one to finally give me a reason to stay? I could just be misinterpreting the whole thing…'

She shook her head once more.

'It doesn't matter, I'll go to the waterfall tonight, whatever happens, happens, I can't deny that I care for him, and this is the least I can do…'

Not to far away, observing her with a big grin on his face, and a light heart, Gustafa leaned against the tree, thinking of the red haired women not to far away from him, as he began to play a song on his guitar.

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Staring at the interesting exchange between the two people on the bridge, she crossed her arms in thought.

"What it must be like to be in love…even if hidden it must feel nice to have."

Flora sighed and crouched down to look at the flowers beside the river, delicately taking one in hand and examining it.

"A flower, something a person gives another when they are in love…and my namesake…Gustafa seems to like them very much…" she said softly as she stood up. "Nami is a very lucky girl to have such a man as him. He seems so in tune with nature and his surroundings, he lets his feelings and emotions guide him…his love for her eternal…"

She slowly began to pick the petals off the flower, her eyes gazing out towards the ocean.

"He will love her for who she is…and she in turn will love him back. Even a person who travels from place to place can find love…so why can't I?"

As her train of thought stopped, she stared down at the flower, as she continued to pluck the petals off.

'I'll find love, I won't find love, I'll find love, I won't find love…" as she came to the last petal, a small smile formed on her lips.

"I will find love…"

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Night approached more quickly then usually it seemed, for Nami and Gustafa, and sooner then expected, Gustafa was on his way to the waterfall, humming the song he was going to sing Nami to himself, and going over it in his head.

"A_ Man Passed the Tree, Thinking about the girl he loved ♪"_

Finishing humming the song to himself, he stopped in front of the waterfall, enjoying the cool spray of the water, the nice winter air, and thinking about what he was planning on doing that night.

"It's not really my style but, I am a man ruled by the heart, and my heart is telling me to do this…"

He then heard soft footsteps beside him and turned to see Flora, emerging from her tent a few feet away from him.

"Well hello Flora, how are you doing?"

She smiled shyly at him, nodding her head curtly as she walked to his side, staring at the waterfall.

"Yes, everything has been going very well for me lately, I'm doing very well with my research and Carter and Myself have found quite a few relics from the ancient civilization that once liv---"

"Yes sister, that seems quite nice, but my question was how are YOU doing…."

Flora flushed from embarrassment, as she wringed her hands.

"Oh…well….I'm doing alright…"

Gustafa frowned, shaking his head.

"Why do I have a feeling that is not the whole story…want to talk about it?"

"It isn't important, you have other things to attend to I take it."

"When a brother or sister is in need, whether angry, sad, or bothered, I'll listen to their story and do my best to help, so don't mind saying anything in front of me. "

He turned towards her, giving an encouraging smile and placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Well…I suppose I'm happy, I should be happy anyway, I have a wonderful career, a good partner, and an interesting lifestyle but…it feels as if something's missing." She said uncertainly as she turned towards him as well with a troubled look on her face. "I know it sounds somewhat clichéd…or very old fashioned but…it almost feels as if I am all alone in this world."

"Everyone needs love, even if that love is one-sided at times, even if the love is unwanted, or almost appears as if it is not there. Everyone needs it."

"Yes, that's true, but lately it feels as if I'll never find love in this world, as if there is no one who I could possibly care for and who would care for me in return…its as if my heart has gotten rid of any hope I ever had of falling in love…"

"Don't say that, I'm sure you'll find love someday, nothing ever comes right away."

Flora sighed and nodded. "Yes, I guess your right but it just feels as if I've waited so long, almost everyone in this village is settled down and at times it just makes me think I'm just wasting my time…"

"As I always say, follow your heart and it will guide you along the path best suited for you. You'll know when its time or when you've found the right person, your heart will tell you…"

Flora nodded in agreement with him and smiled to him in thanks, as she faced the road heading away from the excavation site.

" Your right, it is time I began following my heart…perhaps as of late I've been searching it, rather then using it. I guess I'll just have to start then…thank you for everything though, I'm going to go now, I just need a bit of air to help me think. Goodnight…and good luck with your own ambitions."

"Any time Flora and if you ever need to talk, you know where I'll be. "

"Thanks…"

Turning swiftly, she began to walk down the path away from the Excavation site, mulling over what she had just heard, the advice she was given and how she would act upon it.

Gustafa's thoughts returned back to his current task and how he would have to rely on his heart as well.

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Not to long before the end of Gustafa and Flora's conversation, barely audible footsteps could be heard crossing the bridge, as Nami made her to way to meet Gustafa at the waterfall.

"I wonder if he will reveal his feelings, its possible…he is a musician and he does describe his emotions best in song."

She began turning the corner to walk up the path, still thinking to herself, trying to sort out her emotions.

"Then again why would he suddenly want to come out with his emotions…its not as if it's a special occasion or anything…or as if he has a deadline…why didn't he do it earlier if he already knew about his feelings…did he just realize them now? Ugh, there could be so many reasons…"

As she looked up however, the site she saw made her stop. Up by the waterfall, silhouetted in the moonlight, where two figures, Gustafa and Flora, standing suspiciously close to one another, with what looked like Gustafa's hand on Flora's shoulder.

Tears stung Nami's eyes, as she looked away from the site.

"I knew it was too good to be true…he probably asked Flora to meet him here too, to hear our opinions on it." She let out a soft sob as the next thought occurred to her. "What if…he wanted me to hear the song to make sure it was good enough for her? Maybe after I left, he was planning on going to her and telling her how he felt…I was just there as a tester, someone to listen, a friend to lend an ear too, nothing more…."

Nami closed her eyes and willed the tears to go away as she turned around and began to head back to the Inn. Many thoughts ran through her mind as she stifled her sobs.

"_I'm just a friend. I'm only a listener. He only wanted your opinion. It didn't mean anything. He doesn't care about you. There isn't any reason for you to stay here. It's time to go. He loves her not you, her not you, her not you, her not you…"_

"I'm such an idiot…"

She stood before the bridge now, slowly crossing it and stopping in the middle to look into the water. Slowly, but surely, the tears began to fade away and the sobs subsided, Nami knew what she had to do, this was her sign to move on, she was not meant to stay here it was time to move on and find a new place…to resume her life once again.

"Its time to move on…if he's in love with her so be it. I hope he's happy…I'm sure he'll be much better off with her then he'd ever be with me anyway."

Nami looked into the water, as a solitary tear ran down her cheek.

"He'll soon forget about me…never even remember I existed, but I guess that's alright, it's what I am to be subjected too because of my lifestyle. This place is no different from the next anyway. He's no different from other men I'll meet…"

"_You know that's not true, you love him, you've loved him more then anyone you've loved in the past. You actually wanted to settle down with him, live with him, grown old with him. "_

"It was just a stupid fantasy. I was just caught up in the moment, it was nothing, it won't make a difference in my life, he was just another guy after all, and I'll forget him in time."

"_You say you will, you say he's just another guy, but if he was you wouldn't be feeling as you do now…you love him. "_

"I do not care about him!" She whispered fiercely, tears once again stinging her eyes. "If I don't care though, why does it hurt so much?"

Only silence greeted her question, the sound of the wind between the trees her only answer. One last time she looked at the two standing by the waterfall, before quickly turning and running towards the Inn.

"I'm leaving this place and no matter how much it hurts, no matter how much I want to, I am never coming back."

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The flower sagged towards the ground, as slowly the moon began to head back down towards the horizon.

"She's not coming…"

The sound of lost hope could be heard in the man's voice as he turned towards the river.

"And she most likely never will…"

He held the sagging flower over the river and let go, he watched the flower softly falling into the water and be carried away by the waves.

"I guess not everyone can live by a love song…"

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On her way back from her midnight walk, Flora was wondering in what way her heart would lead her to happiness, when she saw a flower caught in between two vines in the water beside the bridge. She looked over toward the waterfall, where a lone figure was standing with a slouched back. She absently turned back to the flower, bending down and picking it up and twirling it in between her figures, when she felt a sudden pang in her heart and a warm sensation spread through her. One that can only be described as love…


End file.
